Kite



Nov. 15, 1949 w. D. c055 ET AL KITE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 29, 1946 mmvroxs WZLB URN D. CUBE D. L7 55 ATTDEZE@ Nov. 15, 1949 w COBB ET AL 2,488,118

KITE

Filed March 29, 1946 2 She ets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS WILBURN L7. 5055 ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 15 1949 ATENT OFFICE KITE Wilburn- D. Cobb and Andrew D. Cobb, San Francisco, Calif.

, Application March 29, 1946, Serial No. 658,093

This invention relates to improvements in kites intended to' be flown in the air and has for its primary object the provision of a specially constructed sound emitting device associated with the kite and to so position the same thereon that an audible sound will be effected during the flying of the kite. i

Another object of the invention is the provision of a. ribbon of suitable material and to support the same a spaced distance above the top surface of the kite in a manner that will cause the ribbon to be vibrated and thus automatically drone and thus emit sounds that simulate the dronin noise of an airplane in flight.

A further object of the invention is the connection of the ribbon to the ends of an elastic bow and to transversely position the bow on the front top portion of the kite, whereby the resiliency of the bow will enable the ribbon to be easily vibrated by the velocity of the wind and to thus be more efficient in emitting sounds.

A further object of the invention is to connect the ribbon to the ends of the bow whereby the ribbon may be adjusted or replaced, when desired.

A still further object of the invention is to preferably form the ribbon of a strip or strips of palm leaf that is preferably wax treated by shellacking or ironing, whereby a most durable vibrating ribbon is provided to fully serve the purpose of the invention.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, and wherein for the purpose of illustration like numerals designate like parts throughout the same.

Fig. l is a top plan view of one form of the kite employed in the invention, showing a single bow positioned at the front portion thereof,

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the bow, also illustratin the front of the kite in dot and dash lines,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a large type of kite and discloses a pair of bows positioned on the front portion thereof for emitting sounds, and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a bow and ribbon and a terminal collar that is employed for detachably securing the elements together.

Referring in detail to the accompanying drawings wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, in Fig. 1 there is illustrated one form of a kite 2 Claims. (Cl. 244153) employed comprising a wing A and a butt or rear 5 section B that are secured together as at C. The struts 0r framework of the kite are preferably bamboo, but can be made of any suitable material formed into any desirable shape. The numerals 6, l and 8 as illustrated toadvantage in Fig. l designate struts that form the kite structure and are secured together in any convenient manner. The numerals 9" and i8 designate the cover surfaces of the wing and rear-section, respectively, which surfaces may be of paper, cloth or any suitable material, transparent or colored,

glued or otherwise secured tothe: frame- Work of the kite.

The numerals il, l2 and l3 designate cords or wires secured to the framework for reinforcing the structure, said cords being glued to the surfaces 9 and ill by various circular pieces of paper or cloth, M and [5. The numeral l6 designates a string for flying the kite. The reference character D designates the bow positioned on the front portion of th wing A, the construction of which will hereinafter be explained.

In Fig. 3 there is shown in perspective view of a larger and different form of kite than illustrated in Fig. 1, and comprises a wing E, rear section F and a pair of bows G and H. The numerals l! and I8 designate the struts that form the framework of the wing and rear section of said kite and the numeral 19 the base strut that secures the two sections together. The numerals 20 and 2! designate the cover surfaces of the wing and rear section of the kite, while the numerals 22 and 23 indicate the reinforcing cords. The kite is preferably curved, as illustrated, and is formed with concave portions as at 24 to assist in making the kite more buoyant. The numeral 25 designates a conventional kite string.

The means for emitting sound, which device is automatically operated by the velocity of the wind while the kite is in flight, consists of an elastic bow 26, made of bamboo, thin spring steel or any suitable springy material and securing a flexible ribbon 21 to the outer ends thereof, retainin the bow in its bent form as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. A pair of terminal collars 28, each of which slotted as at 29, in Fig. 4, is provided. Each end portion of the ribbon 21 is extended around each end 30 of the bow member 26 and tightly inserted into said slot and substantially retained therein.

It will be obvious that the said ribbon can be adjusted into various lengths which will also adjust the bow, or the ribbon can be removed and a new ribbon replaced, if desired. The strings 3i positioned across the bows in Fig. 3 are of a length sufficient to permit flexibility and are provided merely to prevent the bows or the kite from becoming damaged in the event of breakage of the ribbon. The bows are preferably fastened to the bottom strut of the kite by tying the same thereon, or in any other suitable manner as indicated at 32 in Fig. 2 and 33 in Fig. 3.

The said ribbon 21 may be of any suitable material but it has been discovered through careful experimenting that palm leaf dried, waxed, shel lacked and ironed is inexpensive, strong and durable and emits the clearest droning sound.

Any suitable type of kite can be employed in the invention and artistically colored by aluminum and radiolite paints. Miniature lanterns and an electric battery for lighting the same may be provided on the kite for night flying.

It is to be understood that the forms of our invention herewith shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same and that various changes relative to the material, size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having'thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising a structure forming a kite capable of being flown in the air, a bow formed of elastic material positioned across the front portion of the structure, an elongated strip of flexible ribbon removably and adjustably secured to the end portions of the bow, the said ribbon being arranged with one of its thin edges facing the front of the kite and adapted to be vibrated by the wind for producing an audible droning sound while the kite is in flight, and means extending across the bow capable of preventing the bow from opening in the event of damage to the said ribbon.

2. A device of the character described comprising a structure forming a kite capable of being flown in the air, a plurality of bows formed of elastic material positioned across the front portion of the structure, the said bows being spaced in parallelism one with the other with their outer extremities extending upwardly above the structure, a plurality of flexible ribbons one of which is secured to the outer extremities of each bow, each ribbon being arranged with one of its thin edges facing the front of the kite, whereby an increased audible droning sound is emitted from each ribbon while the kite is in flight.

WILBURN D. COBB. ANDREW D. COBB.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Chu et al Feb. 5, 1946 Number 

